TsarTom:I guess what I'm trying to say is - and I'm a bit embarrassed to admit this- I apparently have no idea how the government functions.I mean, I know you have a PM, and a legislature, but... 59 "appointed" senators?As opposed to?

What goes on up there?

The problem: The Canadian Senate is 105 appointed citizens who provide a "sober second thought" to bills. They almost never reject bills and have basically no power over the PM or the House of Commons. Therefore, they are often regarded as nothing more than well-connected political lifers who, in what little time they spend working, give the rubber stamp to everything that they see. Oh, and they are paid obscene sums of money for this.

The best solution- to abolish the Senate altogether- is also the least likely to be implemented.

The worst solution- to elect Senators- is also the most likely to be implemented.